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The social and psychological impact of the chemical contamination incident in Weston Village, UK: a qualitative analysis

Author

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  • Barnes, Geoffrey
  • Baxter, Jamie
  • Litva, Andrea
  • Staples, Brian

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature on community response to the announcement of well-established chemical contamination close to their homes. It describes a study of residents' views of chemical contamination on a close and long-standing community in the context of impacts on everyday life. This followed the discovery early in 2000 that houses in Weston Village, in the County of Cheshire, England, were contaminated by the chemical hexachlorobutadiene which was seeping from a sealed chemical waste quarry owned by Imperial Chemical Industries, one of the world's largest chemical companies. Qualitative methods were used for the study. A total of 23 people from the village were interviewed in 15 focused, semi-structured interviews. This study highlights the importance of attention to secondary, community-level and interpersonal-level health impacts in the face of epidemiological uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Barnes, Geoffrey & Baxter, Jamie & Litva, Andrea & Staples, Brian, 2002. "The social and psychological impact of the chemical contamination incident in Weston Village, UK: a qualitative analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(12), pages 2227-2241, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:55:y:2002:i:12:p:2227-2241
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    Cited by:

    1. Jokela-Pansini, Maaret & Ippolito, Raffaele & Greenhough, Beth & Lora-Wainwright, Anna, 2024. "Creating safety amidst chronic contamination: A mixed-method analysis of residents’ experiences in a Southern Italian steel town," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    2. Eric E. Calloway & Alethea L. Chiappone & Harrison J. Schmitt & Daniel Sullivan & Ben Gerhardstein & Pamela G. Tucker & Jamie Rayman & Amy L. Yaroch, 2020. "Exploring Community Psychosocial Stress Related to Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Contamination: Lessons Learned from a Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Sullivan, Daniel & Schmitt, Harrison J. & Calloway, Eric E. & Clausen, Whitney & Tucker, Pamela & Rayman, Jamie & Gerhardstein, Ben, 2021. "Chronic environmental contamination: A narrative review of psychosocial health consequences, risk factors, and pathways to community resilience," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    4. Alex G. Stewart & Paolo Luria & John Reid & Mary Lyons & Richard Jarvis, 2010. "Real or Illusory? Case Studies on the Public Perception of Environmental Health Risks in the North West of England," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-21, March.
    5. Vandermoere, Frédéric, 2008. "Psychosocial health of residents exposed to soil pollution in a Flemish neighbourhood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(7), pages 1646-1657, April.
    6. Craig Trumbo & Michelle Lueck & Holly Marlatt & Lori Peek, 2011. "The Effect of Proximity to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Subsequent Hurricane Outlook and Optimistic Bias," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(12), pages 1907-1918, December.
    7. Chris M. Messer & Alison E. Adams & Thomas E. Shriver, 2019. "Living with chronic contamination: a comparative analysis of divergent psychosocial impacts," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 99(2), pages 895-911, November.
    8. Walker, Chad & Baxter, Jamie & Ouellette, Danielle, 2015. "Adding insult to injury: The development of psychosocial stress in Ontario wind turbine communities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 358-365.
    9. Roel Plant & Spike Boydell & Jason Prior & Joanne Chong & Aleta Lederwasch, 2017. "From liability to opportunity: An institutional approach towards value-based land remediation," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(2), pages 197-220, March.

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